Chicken Enchiladas with Béchamel Sauce

The Man loves enchiladas and sadly the Mexican restaurants in NE Georgia do not stand-up to the Mexican restaurants in Southern California where he grew up and lived more than 70 years (30+ years with me). Most of the local Mexican restaurants are  “respectable” but once you’ve spent your life less than a hundred miles from the US-Mexico border… your expectations are high.

While living in SoCal, a first-generation Mexican-American friend shared several of her family recipes with me. We spent an entire day making tamales and she taught me the proper way to make enchiladas. Interestingly, at home many Mexican cooks prefer to make enchilada “lasagna” (casserole) rather than taking the extra time to individually roll the enchiladas.

Today, I veered off the reservation and instead of a red or green sauce, and smothered the enchiladas in a Béchamel sauce infused with fresh peppers from my garden.  My peppers are flourishing this time of year and should continue through most of the fall as the temperature drops into the 80s, which they prefer. (Nightshades, including tomatoes, peppers and potatoes won’t set a bud when the temperature is above 90F.) This morning 3 peppers from my garden with different Scoville Scale degrees of heat . A lot of flavor and only a little heat… The Man prefers milder and I prefer heat… we negotiate, something you learn to master during 41 years of marriage.

 

Ingredients:

4 boneless/skinless chicken thighs

Salt and Pepper to taste

EVOO

6 flour tortillas – use corn if you prefer (Flour are easier to roll)

8 ounces mozzarella, shredded

1 Tablespoon Adobo seasoning – recipe below**

3 tablespoons butter – I use Pulgra or Kerrygold to cook

3 Tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken stock (I make my own)

1 Cup heavy cream

Fresh peppers, minced (I used 1 Jalapeno, 1 Anaheim and 1 red, ripe banana)

Preparations:

Preheat Emeril Air Fryer to 325F or regular oven to 350F. (I find I am using the Air Fryer more to avoid heating the house during the summer.)

Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken thighs and rub with EVOO. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165F. Let cool and shred. Reserve juices and add to chicken stock.

While chicken is cooking and cooling, make a roux. Melt butter in sauce pan on low-medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine and continue to whisk to eliminate flour taste and prevent burning, about 5-7 minutes. Add stock and juices from roasting chicken. Whisk constantly until starts to thicken. Add cream and minced peppers. whisk to thicken and to keep from boiling.

In separate bowl, combine shredded chicken, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and adobo seasoning.

Spread about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture onto a tortilla and roll. Place seam down in oil sprayed baking dish.

Once tortillas line baking dish, pour Béchamel with peppers over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle remainder of mozzarella on top.

Bake in Air Fryer for about 20 minutes until cheese is brown and the Béchamel sauce is bubbling.

Let sit for a few minutes.

Serve with tomatoes or salad.

Clean-up after yourself.

 

**Adobo seasoning

Combine the following herbs and spices:

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Ground Pepper

1 Tablespoon Paprika

1 1/2 Teaspoon Dried, Chopped Onion

1 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano

2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder

Store in a covered air-proof container.

In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.

 

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